Eye floaters: the flies in your eyes
Floaters, also known as "muscae volitantes" or "flying flies," are visual disturbances caused by opaque areas in the eye that produce grey shadows and dark spots that follow the movements of the eye and head.
What factors contribute to the appearance of floaters?
- Dehydration
- Inflammations
- Genetic diseases (vitreoretinal dystrophies)
- Myopia
- Damage related to concomitant diabetes
What symptoms characterize floaters?
- Appearance of flashes of light (photopsia)
- Appearance of shadows or dark spots in the visual field, similar to "flying flies"
Why do floaters appear?
The vitreous body is the gelatinous, transparent mass that fills the eye. With aging, its structure changes: part of the watery component is lost, the volume decreases, and a detachment of the vitreous from the retina can occur. Small fibers also form in the vitreous body, altering the diffusion of light within the eye, creating shadows in the visual field.
How are floaters treated?
There is no specific pharmacological treatment for floaters. The disorder can lessen and disappear within a few months, thanks to the brain's ability to adapt and exclude "flying flies" from the visual field. However, in some cases, they can persist for years.
To counteract their appearance or alleviate their symptoms, it is useful to intervene in lifestyle with proper daily hydration, to restore the fluids of the vitreous body, and with the intake of food supplements rich in vitamins and mineral salts.